1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a guidance information system for guiding the user of a portable device to a destination and a portable device, and in particular, it relates to a guidance information system having a sheet that carries coded pattern information indicative of destinations, in which the user reads the information indicative of the destination by capturing the information on the sheet with an image pickup section of the portable device to navigate a route to the read destination with the portable device, and to a portable device for use in the guidance information system.
2. Related Art
Various navigation systems for humans called human navigation systems have been proposed as portable radio terminals such as mobile phones. One example of the systems is a system in which when a user connects to a receiving unit using the portable radio terminal via a base station through a line, control means in the portable radio terminal obtains its present-position information by position detection means that detects its own position by a global positioning system (GPS), sends the information, and also receives the present-position information of the receiving unit, and displays the present-position information of both units on a display means as a position on a map.
Thus, the user of the portable radio terminal can recognize the present position of the receiving unit, depending on the position on a map. Accordingly, in the case where the user has a promise to meet a person, the user can get the convenience of knowing the position for meeting the person on the receiving side using the map or by indicating an appropriate position to meet. Since the present-position information is updated from moment to moment, the user can know the present position each time. Also, the route and distance to meet the receiving-side person can be calculated, and the time required can be estimated (refer to Patent Document 1: JP-A-2001-289664, paragraphs 0006-0011, FIGS. 1, 3).
Another system has been proposed in which an optical information code (a two-dimensional barcode) serving as position display means, which is provided on a utility pole or the like, is read using the image pickup means of a portable terminal, the positional information of this point is transmitted to map-information providing means via a communication network, corresponding map information is provided via the communication network in response to the transmission, and the received map information is displayed on the display means of the portable terminal, whereby the present position can be grasped from the displayed map information (refer to Patent Document 2: JP-A-2004-213191, paragraphs 0020-0024, FIGS. 1, 5-9).
Furthermore, the applicant has proposed a technique of capturing a two-dimensional barcode indicative of the position of a destination (the latitude and longitude), which is adhered to a map, with the image pickup means of a mobile phone, and decoding the captured image data to obtain the positional information of the destination, and on the other hand, calculating the present-position information (the latitude and longitude) of the mobile phone from a received GPS signal, calculating the distance and direction from the present position to the destination, and displaying the calculation results on a display (refer to Patent Document 3: JP-A-2004-221819, paragraphs 0012-0013, FIG. 1).
The applicant has also proposed a technique of capturing a QR code (registered trademark) that is displayed on the display of a position-display tag unit having the function of obtaining the positional information of itself, which is disposed on a desired point, with the camera of a head-mount display unit, and reading positional information from the captured image. Here, the applicant has also proposed correction of cumulative errors of positional information obtained by a separate movement-detection sensor such as an inertia sensor or an acceleration sensor (or a gyroscope) (refer to Patent Document 4: JP-A-2004-257872, paragraphs 0018-0022, FIGS. 1, 2).
However, the above-described related arts are not sufficient to provide enough information having a map for guiding the user of a portable device to a destination.
For example, since the technique proposed in Patent Document 1 uses no image pickup means, it is impossible to capture specified coded-pattern information such as a two-dimensional barcode and decode it, and to obtain coordinate-position information of the destination on the earth from the decoded result without passing a complicated operation such as key entry. Accordingly, it is not easy to obtain map information corresponding to the coordinate-position information of the destination on the earth, so that it is difficult to obtain intelligible guidance information associated with a map to the destination.
In the technique proposed in Patent Document 2, an optical information code is read, and the map of the present position expressed by the information code is obtained. However, this is not the map of a destination, and the portable device has no sensor capable of detecting changes in the position of itself. Accordingly, it discloses no suggestion on guidance to the destination on the map. Furthermore, although Patent Document 3 discloses an idea of capturing a two-dimensional barcode indicative of the positional information of the destination on a map having the two-dimensional barcode, thereby eliminating a complicated operation such as entering information on the destination point with keys, it has no idea of obtaining a map from the exterior and using it. Accordingly, it has no idea of guiding the user to the destination on an obtained map.
The proposal of Patent Document 4 discloses a technique in which a position display tag always detects the position of itself and displays the detected position using a coded pattern, and the positional information is obtained by image pickup means. However, it does not propose an idea of obtaining information of not the present position but the destination, and obtaining the map of the destination from the exterior and displaying route-guidance information with a map.